BY AIMEE BALDRIDGEROCK STEADYVideothe how-to issue

Tracking shots of moving subjects reached a new level of smooth when cameraman Garrett Brown invented
the Steadicam in 1975. The body-mounted
stabilizer isolates the camera from the
movement of the operator, allowing motion
shooters to capture shake-free footage while
walking, running and riding along with
fast-moving subjects.

But in an era of tight budgets and schedules,
multimedia wedding packages and on-the-fly
production, using such a costly and cumbersome device at a wedding or other venue
isn’t always practical. Operating a full-size
Steadicam requires practice, as well as time
to rig up and balance the camera, and even
more modestly priced and sized stabilization
devices can sometimes be too much for today’s
shoestring budgets and fast-paced shoots.

To help you shoot better video for weddings
and other clients, we asked six multimedia pros
how they achieve smooth tracking shots without
using commercial stabilization gear.

KEEPING STEADY

The cheapest and lightest stabilization gearis no gear at all. Some shooters develop tech-niques for holding the camera and moving withit to eliminate much of the shakiness associatedwith handheld footage. “The best thing I woulddo is practice smoothing out your walk,” recom-mends Seattle-based multimedia journalist andproducer Tim Matsui. “Hold the camera a littleout from your body, be kind of flowing in yourarm motions, and realize that you’re going totranslate your body motion into the shot.”Eric Seals, a multimedia journalist atthe Detroit Free Press, compares his walk-ing technique to the footwork of a marchingband: “You have to put one foot in front ofthe other, but do it in a smooth, fluid, gentleway. You just kind of roll. And when I’mwalking, I’m also controlling my breathing.”While smooth footwork eliminates largermovements, the upper body can buffer the cam-era from more subtle shakiness. “I think of mybody as a shock absorption tool,” says BostonGlobe multimedia producer Darren Durlach.

He absorbs minor vibrations by holding his
arms away from his body and keeping his grip
on the camera loose. “That keeps it from those
tiny jerky movements,” he says.

Stephen Keller, a photographer for
Southwest Airlines, finds using a shoulder
rig a happy medium between the stability of a Steadicam shot and the shakiness
of a standard handheld shot, but when he’s
shooting without a rig and wants a similarly
smooth effect for a tracking shot, he relies on
physical technique and one little accessory:
his camera strap. Holding his arms down
next to his body, he pushes the camera out so
that the strap is taut. “You just push it so that
it creates a natural resistance,” he explains.

“That will keep the camera much steadier
than if you’re just handholding it.”

SETTINGS AND COMPOSITION

Selecting the right camera settings and composition is also vital to achieving a smooth
handheld tracking shot, mainly because it’s

This page: Eric Seals of the Detroit Free Press

has used a variety of camera mounts, including some devices he’s designed and constructed himself.

Expert tips from six videographers on creating smoothtracking shots when shooting motion.